SAN FRANCISCO – Two of the West Coast’s great women’s basketball programs had wildly different experiences at the Chase Center on Friday night.
Hometown Stanford was rocked 84-59 by No. 11 Ohio State in the first game of the doubleheader, with the Buckeyes’ press taking the Cardinal by surprise as former coach Tara VanDerveer sat courtside. VanDerveer was Ohio State’s coach from 1980-85 before beginning her legendary run at Stanford.
No. 1 UCLA was without former Stanford player Lauren Betts (lower-leg injury) but was still a dominant force. In a rematch of last season’s second-round NCAA Tournament game with Creighton, the Bruins jumped out to a 26-4 first quarter lead and romped past the Bluejays 70-41.
Here’s four takeaways from Friday’s college basketball showcase in The City.
Stanford guard play outclassed by Ohio State
Ohio State relentlessly pressed and trapped Stanford’s guards, and the Cardinal admitted to being puzzled by the tactic.
Stanford, which fell to 8-4 and entered the holiday break having lost three of its past four, got less than ideal guard play out of Elena Bosgana, Jzaniya Harriel and the rest of the backcourt.
Coach Kate Paye, who took over from VanDerveer after last season, stressed that the team is still a work-in-progress as it gets ready for its first ACC trip against SMU on Jan. 2 and Clemson on Jan. 5.
“We’re not ready yet, we’re a cake that’s still cooking and baking,” Paye said. “It’s not going to get any easier in ACC play. This is when you have people stepping into new and larger roles, and the challenge is to be consistent.”
Stanford was pressured into 19 turnovers against Ohio, whereas the Buckeyes had just five. Talana Lepolo’s athleticism and energy was felt as she missed her seventh game in a row with a knee injury.
“Talana is working to get healthy, and there’s not timeline and we’re hopeful that she gets healthy,” Paye said.
Nunu Agara stands out
The sophomore post was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise abysmal night for Stanford. Even as the deficit grew, Agara continued to attack from the low block, leading the team with 17 points and also adding 10 boards against an athletic Ohio State front line.
“I really thought Nunu got it going in the second half, and she has aspirations of being a great player and certainly has all of the tools,” Paye said.
The 6-foot-2 Agara has been a revelation since being thrust into a starring role after Kiki Iriafen transferred to USC. She’s scoring an average of 17 points per game and is shooting over 50% from the field and 40% from 3-point land.
She still saw room for improvement, both for herself and as a team, after Ohio State took the Cardinal apart.
“We turned it up a little too late,” Agara said.
No Betts, no problem
Betts is arguably the best player in the country, a 6-7 shot blocker who averages 19.8 points per game and grabs double-digit rebounds for the nation’s top-ranked team in UCLA.
Those who went to Chase Center hoping to see another dominant performance from the former Cardinal big – she spent her freshman year on The Farm before transferring to UCLA – instead saw her sidelined with a leg injury.
Her absence didn’t slow the Bruins. With star juniors Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez and Janiah Barker in the lineup, UCLA still pounded Creighton. And junior forward Angela Dugalic picked up the slack on the interior, scoring 13 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.
UCLA routed the same team that the Bruins only beat 67-63 in last season’s NCAA Tournament, sending a message to the rest of the country in the process.
“If you look at the whole roster, and the people who are out, like there’s basically no way of stopping us,” Dugalic said. “To put it bluntly.”
Valkyries loom over Chase Center
The teams playing in Friday’s games may have been collegiate, but the Bay Area’s newest professional basketball team loomed over the event.
The WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries were heavily promoted before and during the game, and the power players in the team’s front office were seen chatting it up with VanDerveer at halftime.
The next time the arena will play host to a women’s basketball game, it will be on May 16 when the Valkryies play their inaugural game against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“Everything has been totally first class,” Paye said of playing in the pro arena. “Our team was really excited for the opportunity.”
